Commerce residents share paranormal beliefs

For years, all around the globe, there are have been documented instances where a person or a group of people have experienced something they could not explain – something paranormal. There have always been those people who believe readily in such incidents, but with every believer come a group of cynics to condemn them.

Residents of Commerce are not immune to the supernatural hype, due to recent media coverage of paranormal phenomenon – the most recent example being the film, "Paranormal Activity" – which has had a noticeable impact on the number of people who are willing to believe.

"I never gave it much thought before," junior radio and television major Victoria Christopher said. "But after that movie, I actually have some sort of belief in it for the simple fact that there are things that are unknown out there…and I feel like some people may experience them more than others."

There are some people who devote a large portion of their free time to investigating the paranormal. There have even been groups and organizations founded to locate and investigate the existence of paranormal events and entities. One such group is the Dallas Area Paranormal Society, or DAPS. As DAPS president, not only does Nicholas Nix help in paranormal investigations, he also tries to educate people in the ways of the paranormal.

"Many people have the belief that every time you go somewhere, as soon as you turn out the lights, paranormal activity begins," Nix said. "In fact, it is a long and tedious event that takes hours and lasts an extremely long time. In the end, you may not have anything at all, or maybe the only activity you have was recorded…and you had no personal experiences."

While "paranormal media" has recently breathed new life into peoples' beliefs, this still does not take away the existence of skeptics. Though their numbers may be reduced, many nonbelievers still balk at the idea of paranormal activity.

"I believe there are things we can not explain but as far as typical paranormal stuff…I would say no," sophomore biology major Victoria Walters said. "I believe there is a spiritual world but typical angels or demons or ghost…I think they are kind of subjective to personal beliefs."

The term paranormal, by definition, refers to anything beyond the range of normal experience or scientific expression. However, due in part to the media's portrayal of the weird and unexplained, many people do not include any form of religion or spirituality in their personal definition of paranormal – despite the fact that religious beliefs are beyond the scope of scientific expression.

There are, nonetheless, those who recognize their religious views as paranormal and, thus, incorporate them into their personal definition.

"I believe that when people or maybe even animals die, their soul lives on through other life forms…so that they are still part of the Earth," junior early education major Tabitha Dupree said.